Kristen Bell has revisited the disappointment of losing out on a coveted Broadway role two decades ago, revealing she narrowly missed being cast in a New York revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical Gypsy in 2003. The actress, now widely known for The Good Place and Netflix's Nobody Wants This, has said the rejection was "a real heartbreak" at the time, though she now views it as a pivotal turning point that redirected her career path.

Bell has explained that missing out on Gypsy led her to take the lead role in Veronica Mars in 2004, the teen detective drama that launched her mainstream career and prompted her move to Los Angeles. She reflected that one of her "biggest failures" ultimately shaped the rest of her professional life, as she would never have relocated to LA had she secured the stage part. Gypsy, based on a former stripper's memoirs, has been revived on Broadway roughly every decade since its 1959 debut, including in 2024, and won a Tony Award in 1989. Bell is now set to appear in Violent Night 2 and Frozen 3, alongside a third season of Nobody Wants This due on Netflix in October 2026.